The UK’s Royal Meteorological Society wrote about the deadly heatwave that affected western North America in 2021. An underlying message was to prepare for more disasters like the destruction of Lytton, BC. This might happen even if governments get truly serious about climate change, an unlikely scenario even as death and destruction mounts.

On June 29th, after breaking Canadian records for the two previous days, Lytton, British Columbia, recorded 49.6°C. This is the hottest temperature ever observed in Canada, crushing the previous record of 45°C…

Canada is warming at twice the rate of the rest of the globe, and Northern Canada is warming even faster, at triple the rate. Perhaps for the first time on Earth, Fort Smith (North West Territories) may be the first site to have recorded 40°C north of 60N.

Record-breaking heat in Canada

This month’s Hawaiian wildfires are among the deadliest in U.S. history.

Today, a Canadian town is threatened. Yellowknife residents have been ordered to begin evacuating the city immediately as wildfires approach.

NASA states that wildfires, whether caused by lightning or human activities, are burning longer and more often as the world warms. While 2023 is bad, a negative trend had already been established.

The Climate Reality Project founded by Al Gore discusses feedback loops,

When we burn fossil fuels, they emit greenhouse gases (GHGs) like carbon dioxide (CO₂) and methane (CH₄). These gases trap the sun’s energy in Earth’s atmosphere as heat. As more and more GHGs are released, more heat gets trapped and the planet warms up, disrupting the long-standing, delicate climate systems that have made life on Earth possible.

The stronger storms and longer droughts we see becoming a dangerous new normal are a direct result… In many cases, the wildfires or disappearing glaciers we see in the headlines have unseen knock-on effects that lead to, well, more wildfires and disappearing glaciers.

Think of it like dominos lined up in an infinite spiral – once one domino falls, it creates a reaction that pushes over another and then another right on down the line.

How Feedback Loops are Making the Climate Crisis Worse

Once such a cascade is triggered, it might cause a runaway effect that could catapult Earth’s climate out of its stable phase even as human emissions are reduced. The earth could be 4–5 °C warmer than pre-industrial temperatures and have sea levels 10–60 m higher than today.

Climate Change Could Have a Domino Effect

Research simulations show tipping points and positive feedback are destabilizing the climate at a faster rate than believed before now.

A few months ago, New York Times climate reporter Brad Plumer wrote about a new I.P.C.C. report and its bleak warnings. This almost 200 page publication will be given lip service and then put away and largely ignored, like countless other papers by respected climate scientists. When urgent action is needed, political and business leaders give us hollow promises and greenwashing instead.

British Columbia specializes in empty promises. Alberta and Saskatchewan don’t bother. Instead their hardcore climate change deniers mindlessly repeat industry talking points.

If I seem pessimistic, it’s only because I am. Entrenched financial interests in this and other developed nations are unlikely to commit unreservedly to needed changes. Banks and other capital holders invariably put self-interest before the public interest.

Despite warnings of scientists, global fossil-fuel emissions set records last year, Goals agreed to in the 2015 Paris Agreement are becoming unreachable.